Ancient Words, Modern Message

Bagel-side Chat #9: Looking Back While Moving On

In this, his ninth “Bagel-side Chat” Hebrew Christian Fellowship Director, Roger Wambold reflects on decades of ministry as a pastor and as a mission director.  This episode is quite different from the previous eight, providing “time-travel” to a church-pew in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as a young pastor preaches from 1 Samuel 24 in a sermon entitled, “Loving Until It Hurts.”  Join us as we listen in.
Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Recruited for Failure

Imagine a job posting on LinkedIn or Ziprecruiter with the following description:  Excellent opportunity for a career prophet demonstrating exceptional communication skills, interest in employment longevity, and a willingness to commit to a task leading to disappointment, minimal affirmation, and near-total failure.
Clearly there would not be a long line of applicants for such a position, and yet that is the career offered by God to Isaiah, one which he enthusiastically accepted and which he diligently pursued.
We read about the hiring process in Isaiah 6:1-13 as we move into this last of six episodes  in  the series entitled:  “I Saw the Lord:  Studies in the Book of Isaiah.”
With Bibles open to Isaiah 6, let’s consider together this most unusual job search in an episode entitled:  “Recruited for Failure.”
 
Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday. Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.
 

An Old Testament Prophet for Today’s America

There are those who dismiss the relevance of the Bible to twenty-first century Americans, calling it archaic and obsolete.  
 
However, a careful reading of the observations and pronouncements of the Old Testament Prophets leads one to the sense that they could just as readily be spoken in the United States of America today.
 
Nowhere is this more evident than in the Book of Isaiah in its record of that prophet’s message to his own Southern Kingdom of Israel in the eighth century B.C.  As we consider that message we can legitimately wonder:  “If Isaiah were to address the moral and spiritual condition of the U.S. and the American people today, what would he say?”  It would seem that his words would be strikingly similar to those spoken by him over two and a half millennia ago.
In today’s study we listen in on Isaiah’s God-given commission to confront his own people in his day, while carefully facing the question:  “Could this also be God’s message to America in 2025?”
 
So, with Bibles open to Isaiah five, verses eight through thirty, we continue the series, “I Saw the Lord:  Studies in the Book of Isaiah,” in an episode entitled, “An Old Testament Prophet for Today’s America.”
--
Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

The Ballad of the Disappointing Vineyard

It wasn’t easy being an Old Testament prophet whose job it was to speak on God’s behalf in denouncing the disobedience and rebellion of his own Jewish people and declaring the certainty of divine judgment if they did not repent and turn from their wicked ways.  
Sometimes the prophet turned to an unorthodox style to make his point, using metaphors, object lessons, and even a song.
Such is the case with Isaiah as recorded in the beginning of the fifth chapter of the book that bears his name.
After a glimpse into the future of Israel and the Jewish people in chapter four, Isaiah turns to the weighty task of addressing the present condition of His people in their land.
Perhaps, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah thought, “I think I’ll try something different to make my point.  I know; I’ll write a song, a ballad, and maybe they’ll get the message!”
And that’s exactly what we find in Isaiah 5:1-7, so let’s turn to chapters four and five for today’s episode entitled, “The Ballad of the Disappointing Vineyard”  in this continuing series, “I Saw the Lord:  Studies in the Book of Isaiah."
--
Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Crisis Management 101!

Following a number of recent natural disasters in various parts of our country there has been a careful examination of the effectiveness of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
It could well be said that the FEMA of the Old Testament Period consisted of one person, the Old Testament Prophet who was commissioned by God to identify the crisis which posed an emergency, along with managing and addressing that crisis.
In the Southern Kingdom of Israel in the eighth century B.C., that position was filled by Isaiah who boldly and courageously declared the emergency and offered a response to manage it, a message which sadly was consistently ignored.
We have been moving through a series of studies entitled:  “I Saw the Lord:  Studies in the Book of Isaiah,” and in today’s episode we find the prophet Isaiah identifying three crises and offering a solution to their threat of danger.
So, let’s turn now to the third chapter of the Book of Isaiah in an episode we call simply, “Crisis Management 101!”
--
Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall!

The Jewish prophets of the Old Testament period whose names are attached to the record of their ministries in Scripture were indeed a “rare” bunch, “rare” in so many ways.
What we must remember is that each of those prophets addressed the challenges and opportunities of his own specific time.
However, without exception, each of them also was given a message to proclaim concerning events that would transpire long after his own time.
For this reason it can be correctly said that each one of the Old Testament prophets had a dual ministry of forth telling (as in addressing the people and circumstances of his own day) and a ministry of fore telling (as in declaring events reserved for the future, and often the distant future).
This dual role is clearly evident in Isaiah chapter two, the focus of the second in this series of six podcasts taken from the book of Isaiah, a series entitled:  “I Saw the Lord:  Studies in the Book of Isaiah.”  With a touch of levity on a serious subject, we’ve entitled this episode, “The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall!”  With Bibles open to Isaiah, chapter two, let’s get started.
--
Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Whiter Than Snow

The eighth century B.C. prophet Isaiah was commissioned by God to confront his own Jewish people in the Southern Kingdom of Judah with their deplorable spiritual and cultural condition, calling upon them to repent and avoid the consequences of His judgment.
Then, as now, the question begs to be asked:  “If my sinful condition is so extreme, then how can I possibly be cleansed and forgiven?”
It is this very question posed by Robert Lowry in the old Gospel song, “Nothing But the Blood,” when he asks, “What can wash away my sin?  What can make me whole again?” and claims the answer from the Scriptures, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
In today’s edition of “Ancient Words, Modern Message” we will consider Isaiah’s powerful ministry as we begin a new six-part series entitled:  “I Saw the Lord:  Studies in the Book of Isaiah.”  
At the heart of the prophet’s message are the poignant words of his challenge to his people expressed in Isaiah 1:18:  “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD:  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
With a Bible open to Isaiah chapter one we begin this episode entitled, “Whiter Than Snow." 
--
Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

The Tale of the Top

In just a few days people in the United States and around the world will be celebrating Christmas 2024, but as that celebration concludes in the evening of December 25, Jewish people around the world will be beginning their observance of the eight-day Festival of Lights, Hanukkah.
 
In this episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message, you are invited to join Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship, for his eighth “Bagel-side Chat.” 
 
There are numerous traditional observances and activities associated with the annual celebration of Hanukkah, one of which is a favorite among Jewish children, referring to the game played with a special spinning top called a dreidel.  But the dreidel is not just a toy; it is a teaching tool with which children are reminded of, and instructed about, the history of their people.  
 
It is this instruction and its even greater application that is the subject of this “Bagel-side Chat,”  an episode entitled, “The Tale of the Top.”  Let’s listen in. . .
--
Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

A Stronghold in the Day of Trouble

While it is fashionable and generally inoffensive—as well as correct—to speak of God as being a God of love, it is incorrect to neglect the equal truth that God is holy and just and therefore a God of judgment.
 
It is the balance between the demonstration of God’s mercy and grace, and his holiness and justice displayed in judgment against sin, that is the theme of both the book of Jonah and the book of Nahum in which the Assyrian Empire and its capital city of Ninevah are the case study.
 
Given the natural proclivity for sin of every human being and the prospect of divine judgment against our sin, a logical question arises:  How can I possibly withhold the trouble looming before me when I face God in judgment?
 
We will consider this troubling question and the comforting answer in this second and concluding study of the book of Nahum in the two-part series, “Nahum:  Good News, Bad News.”
 
So, let’s open the Bible to Nahum chapter three for this episode entitled, “A Stronghold in the Day of Trouble.” 
---
Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

The Prophet’s Music with a Powerful Message

The previous series of studies in the book of Jonah closes with the account of God sparing the Assyrian Empire from His judgment of destruction because of their response to the preaching of Jonah, the reluctant prophet.
 
A “companion” book to the book of Jonah among the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament is the little three-chapter-book of Nahum which again focuses on Ninevah over a century after Jonah’s preaching there.  Tucked into its forty-seven verses, the book of Nahum carries a powerful reminder of the disastrous consequences of ignoring God’s call to repentance and trust in Him and Him alone.
 
Welcome to the first in this two-part series of studies of the book of Nahum entitled, “Nahum:  Good News, Bad News” in an episode we call, “The Prophet’s Music with a Powerful Message.”